The present invention relates to an ergonomic hand-operable fluid-dispensing device. In particular, the present invention relates to an ergonomic hand-operable double-acting system for administering a fluid composition to an eye.
Ophthalmic disorders often require topical administration of fluid compositions to the affected eye. The patient often must administer the medication on herself or himself. Typically, eye drops are simply contained in a squeezable multi-use bottle from which the eye drops are dispensed through a simple bored-through nozzle. However, such a squeezable multi-use bottle presents the risk of contamination of the medication remaining in the bottle because the liquid that is not ejected completely from the nozzle after each use tends to flow back into the bottle when air is drawn in.
A device that can minimize or eliminate such risk of contamination employs a double-acting pump for ejecting the liquid from a bottle. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,851,583, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. However, the use of this device in the upside-down position for self administration of an eye drop is quite awkward, especially for patients with less flexibility.
Therefore, there is a continued need to provide a more ergonomic hand-operable device for self administration of a fluid composition into an eye. Moreover, it is also very desirable to provide such a device to patients with less flexibility to encourage compliance with the required treatment.